The Conservatives are keeping up the pressure on Washington to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, touting the economic benefits of the project and Canada’s environmental record

Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, pictured at a news conference in Washington on Sept. 9, said in New York Tuesday that Canada has made progress curbing greenhouse gas emissions and poked at America’s dependence on coal-generated electricity.

OTTAWA—The Conservatives are keeping up the pressure on Washington to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, touting the economic benefits of the project and Canada’s environmental record.

With the U.S. administration considering the fate of the pipeline to ship Alberta oil sands crude to American refineries, federal officials are working to defuse worries south of the border about the environmental impact of the energy project.

During a visit to New York Tuesday, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Canada has made progress curbing greenhouse gas emissions and poked at America’s dependence on coal-generated electricity.

“Coal is the biggest single emitter of greenhouse gas emissions,” Oliver told reporters during a conference call.

He applauded efforts in the U.S. to bring in regulations on coal emissions, while pointedly noting that Canada already has similar rules in place.

“Clearly from a global perspective, it’s a good thing the U.S. is moving ahead in this regard,” Oliver said.

“Canada is the only country with regulations banning the construction of new coal-fired power plants that use traditional technology. We now require all existing coal plants to shut down on a schedule that reflects their economic life” Oliver said.

During his visit to New York City, Oliver spoke to Global Energy Summit, part of ongoing sales campaign stateside to tout Canada as a reliable energy supplier as the U.S. administration weighs whether to approve the Keystone Xl pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp.

But U.S. President Barack Obama told the New York Times in July that he’s looking at whether the project will “significantly contribute to carbon in our atmosphere.

“And there is no doubt that Canada at the source in those tar sands could potentially be doing more to mitigate carbon release,” Obama told the newspaper.

CBC News reported earlier this month that Prime Minister Stephen Harper had written Obama offering to take “joint action” to cut greenhouse has emissions in the oil and gas sector in a bid to win approval for the pipeline.

Asked about the letter on Monday, Harper said that he “reiterated the government’s strong support.”

He said the U.S. State Department’s own analysis of the pipeline proposal showed that the “environmental impacts are manageable and not significant.

“And so I reiterate that the project should be approved on its merits,” Harper said in Vancouver.

“At the same time . . . we do work with the United States. Part of our plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions . . . that part of that approach is working continentally with the United States on areas where we have integrated industry, as we’ve done, for instance, in the transportation sector,” Harper said.

“Obviously we continue to be open to working with our American partners on things like that. But in other areas such as, you know, for instance, coal-fired electricity, we’ve actually gone farther than the United States government.”

On Tuesday, Oliver said Canada is in “lockstep with the U.S. in our commitment to address the challenges of climate change.

“We do believe that part of that can be done jointly with the United States, reflecting the integrated nature of our two economies. Some of it will be done on our own,” he told reporters.

But after hearing from bankers, financiers and analysts during his New York visit, Oliver said there is concern in the private sector about the “timeliness” of the proposed projects becoming a reality.

“These are opportunities that have a certain lifespan. It’s wrong to assume that because the resources are in the ground, it doesn’t matter when you get them out,” he said.

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